Escape Roads: 1940 Chevrolet Master Deluxe

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1940 Chevrolet Master Deluxe

Chevrolet was in good shape in 1940, ahead of Ford and producing General Motors' 25-millionth car while moving from the crisply upright to the gently wide.

William Durant established Chevrolet Motor Co. and named it for Louis Chevrolet in 1911, the year after losing control of his earlier venture, GM. Complex stock maneuvering restored that control in 1915, Chevrolet became a GM division in 1918, and Durant was out again in 1920. Chevrolet almost went, too, but Alfred Sloan was heading the corporation and saw potential. Chevrolet outsold Ford in 1927 partly because of the Model T's wind down, but Sloan had been right, and Chevrolet would compete on its merits.

The division introduced a 45-hp, 194-cubic-inch overhead-valve six in 1929 when the Model A's 200-cubic-inch flathead-four produced 40 hp. Every Chevrolet through 1954 would use a six, and the engine would grow; it had to compete with Ford's V8 beginning in 1932. By 1937, its 216 cubic inches generated the same 85 hp as the 221-cubic-inch Ford. Chevy's engine was unchanged for 1940.

That was the final year in which both independent and solid-axle front ends were offered, and style was evolving. A wider and less sharply pointed grille helped the fenders and hood to blend more smoothly than in 1939. Headlights were now sealed-beam units located farther apart and looking much less like an afterthought.

Trunkless coaches and sedans vanished in 1939, so 1940 brought better-integrated trunks. The fresh look and proven drivetrain pushed 1940 production to more than 760,000 cars, 180,000 more than 1939 output.

Seven decades later, Joe Lubas found this 1940 Chevy Master Deluxe Sport Sedan in 2010 near his Jessup, Pa., home, and a look underneath showed that its 71,000 miles had been accumulated carefully.

“There was nothing there but surface rust,” Lubas says, “no evidence of corrosion. I looked inside the fenders, and there's no evidence of bodywork.”

The car was repainted at some point, and several trim pieces were replated, but the interior and drivetrain are original. The only problems were poor repairs. But that's all forgotten when driving the car.

The manual choke and hand throttle reveal the Chevrolet's age, as does the blend of exhaust and gear noise in getting up to speed. A modern driver might say the same of the three-speed's column shifter, but vacuum assist means it operates with guidance and nothing more. Unlike the less expensive Master 85, the Master Deluxe has Knee-Action independent front suspension for good ride and handling.

“You know where your limitations are,” Lubas says. “You don't overdrive it.” But they're limitations worth accepting. The driving position is comfortable, and the car is content at 50 mph on the open road.

The Chevrolet was heavily restyled for 1941, and because of World War II, that platform was the basis for not only the short 1942 production year, but also the 1946 through 1948 models.